Barcelona have moved on from Lionel Messi in the last couple of years. The Argentine left in 2021 to join Paris Saint-Germain, and moved again this summer to MLS side Inter Miami, where he has had an immediate impact.
Barcelona did try to re-sign Messi before he joined Inter Miami, although negotiations broke down. However, it is not a massive disappointment, as the Catalans have been successful since he departed, especially last season when they won their first LaLiga title in four years.
However, one area that Barcelona have massively struggled in since Messi’s departure is free-kicks. As per MD, they have failed to score any since the summer of 2021, where the Argentine has remarkably scored nine, including one against Bolivia on Thursday night.
Barcelona have capable free-kick takers in their squad, notably Robert Lewandowski, Ilkay Gundogan and Raphinha. However, they have failed to score any despite numerous attempts. Head coach Xavi Hernandez will hope that the drought can be ended as soon as possible, although they are still having success without scoring free-kicks.
Shmonny
525
Messi will go back to France to pick up his Ballon d'Or after beating them in the World Cup final
sooklnpst
85
I just wanted and would love to see Leo Messi score another 13 free kick goals before he retires
Factos
15
This is just click bait. On average only 1 in 17 free kicks result in a goal. And many teams don't try for direct free kick goals, They usually try to get it to tall players who can get headers. Barca stats are pretty normal. It's only when u compare it to a freak of nature like Leo Messi, Barca looks like underperforming. U really don't expect every FK to be a goal unless the taker is Leo Messi, Ward-Prowse, young CR7 or Juninho. It's just that Messi in later years have been insanely sucessful. Man at one point has more FK goals than entire European powerhouse clubs. Just GOAT things. Just look at this poster from ESPN in 2020